Life After Death
by mary-sue-hunter98
Summary: 2 girls fall into Middle Earth and tag along with the fellowship. I'm really horrible at summaries, so you'll just have to read to find out. 10th11th walker. POSSIBLE marysueness.


**Author's Note: **I don't own Lord of the Rings, or any of the characters in it. Nothing, and I repeat, NOTHING, belongs to me. Also, please don't try to force your views of Mary-sues on me. I'm just making this fic on a whim, so don't send reviews telling me how 'Bad Mary-sues and tenth walkers are'. I appreciate creative criticism, but telling me how terrible my fic is just cause it's Mary-sue and tenth walker related is just a waste of your time and mine. Whew, Glad that's over with. Now, on with the story!

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Chapter 1: In which I turn 16, you meet my best friend and I decide I hate creepy voices

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It was the morning of October 15th, a Saturday, which just so happened to be a very special day for me. Of course, I didn't know that yet because I was too drowsy to think of anything at the moment.

"Bright!" I moaned, rolling into a more comfortable position and stuffing my pillow over my eyes.

The curtains, which I had opened last night to look at the stars, were laughing hysterically at my hopelessness. I glared heatedly at them from beneath my pillow and swore that before the day was over I would burn them.

"Aubry! Time to get up! I made breakfast for you, Birthday girl!" my mom called from downstairs. I slowly began to decipher what had been said, wondering vaguely what was important about that sentence.

'Breakfast? No…Get up? Nah, that's not it…Birthday?'

"BIRTHDAY!" I shrieked, sitting up quickly and almost knocking over my lamp with the pillow I had thrown off my face. Totally forgetting how tired I was, I rushed into my bathroom, took a quick shower and brushed my teeth.

'It's my birthday today! ALL RIGHT! Maybe I'll get my Return of the King DVD!' I squealed, threw on a change of clothes and rushed out of my room.

"Sweetie, slow down! You sound like a herd of elephants trampling down those stairs!" My mom called exasperatedly, giving me the evil eye and setting down my breakfast.

"Yeah, I know. Thanks for the pancakes Mom!" I said, digging into my strawberry pancakes like I hadn't eaten in the last few months. I really love my pancakes. Sighing, my mom turned back to the sink and began to wash the dishes.

Eating the last pancake in one gulp, I set my plate into the tub of bubbles and ran out the door, calling over my shoulder that I would be back by supper.

'I hope Beth hasn't left for the park without me!' I though, grabbing my bike and heading over to my best friend's house, swallowing the rest of my breakfast on the way.

"Beth!" I shouted as I rode into her driveway, hoping to the Lord above that she was still home. "Are you here? I'm sorry I'm late, but I was up 'til 11 last night watching 'The Two Towers'."

"How many times does that make it now? 15?" I grinned as I saw Beth wheel her bike out of the garage, strapping a helmet on over her wavy, black hair.

"Actually, it was only the 5th. Are you sure you should be in the 10th grade? Even kindergartners can count that high." I shot back, grinning playfully and riding over to her.

Beth had been my friend for 4 years now, starting when a friend of ours introduced us to each other. We hadn't even known the other had existed, being in totally different social circles.

Beth was the brainiac, always getting A's in her classes and being depressed if she got anything lower than a B plus on tests. She was kind to everyone and mostly quiet in class, never trying to outdo anyone else.

Don't get me wrong, I was still pretty smart, but Beth outdid me in every class. I, on the other hand, outdid her in participating.

Where Beth was quiet and humble, I was loud and brash. I signed up for almost every activity that was available, including drama and band. Most of the time I was bouncing off the walls with energy, while Beth sat down and watched me make a fool out of myself.

We balanced each other out, kinda like yin and yang and we were both rubbing off on the other, Beth being more social and active, while I was learning to be quiet at the right times and think things through before making a total mess.

"Ok, ready to go to the park?" I asked, nodding down the road in the general direction of the local park.

"Yep, I'm ready. Let's go!" We pushed off and started peddling down the street, curving around parked cars and gossiping about anything and everything.

As we neared the park, something peculiar caught my eye. A large ball of light had suddenly blinked into existence, then disappeared.

"Nashi, did you see that?" I asked, glancing over my shoulder in search of the odd light.

"What are you talking about? I didn't see… AUBRY, WATCH OUT!" Whirling around, I realized that I was about to come face to face with one of the major reasons you should always look where you're going.

"AHHH!" I screamed, turning the handles sharply and just barely missing a head on collision with a parked car.

'Wow, that was close.' I though, glancing back as Beth managed to catch up and coast beside me.

"Well, You sure are the magnet for troub…OH MY GOD!" she shrieked, eyes widening. I suddenly realized why I hated riding bikes.

"What's the matt…?" I looked up and saw a red SUV heading straight for us.

"OH MY GOD!" I screamed, gripping the handlebars as tightly as I could and glancing around for some way of escape.

Before I could think of anything, I felt an intense pain sweep through my entire body and everything went black.

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'Ergh, what hit me?' I thought distractedly, opening my eyes and immediately closing them again.

'So bright.' This definitely wasn't my day. First, I'm late to meeting Beth, then I nearly run into a car, that was parked no less. Now I wake up in a room that must have one major lighting bill. Just great.

Sitting up and gazing around the space I had been lying in, I realized that I hadn't really been lying down at all. There was no floor, no ceiling, and no walls. I was floating in a never-ending sea of white brightness.

'Wait, can brightness have a color?' I mused to myself, half grinning and half grimacing in pain.

'No, but color can have brightness.' A drowsy voice said. Startled, I looked around for the person that had spoken.

'Who are you? And how can you hear my thoughts?' The voice had come from inside this… oblivion, yet I couldn't see anyone.

'Ichigo ? Is that you?' the voice said, sounding startled. My eyes widened in surprise as I realized who it was.

'Beth? Where are you? And how can you listen to my thoughts?' This was definitely getting a little hard to handle.

'Well, I don't know exactly where I am. I don't even know how I got here. The last thing I remember is getting on my bike and riding down the street. Then…nothing. It's like we just disappeared off the face of the Earth.'

Well, that certainly put a damper on things.

'And I have no idea how I can hear your thoughts. How can you hear mine?'

And I defiantly wasn't expecting that.

'I can hear your thoughts? I thought you were just talking to me. This could really help when we play pranks on people.' I heard Beth sigh mentally, obviously trying to restrain herself..

'Aubry, we're in a big cloud of nothing, all alone with no food or water, and we're hearing things that someone else is thinking. This isn't really the time for jokes.'

I heard something shift off to my left, pricking my curiosity.

'Beth, think I can hear you moving! That must mean you're nearby. Keep moving around so I can find you.' I slowly eased onto my hands and knees, stiffened, and tried not to cry out in pain.

'Man, that smarts. What hurt me so badly that I can barely move?' I started to shuffle in the direction of the tapping noise Beth was making, singing a simple song in my head to pass the time.

Stumbling along for a good five minutes, (and nearly reaching the end of my second song) I finally started to see a hazy image coming into view.

'Beth! I think I see you! Wave your hand above your head or something so that I can tell.'

Slowly the figure raised something up in the air and began to wave it feebly back and forth.

'YES! It is you Nashi! I'll be there in five seconds.' I ambled over to my friend and sat down beside her, trying not to topple over from exhaustion.

'That was more work than I thought it would be. Usually I can go a good hour walking around, but just five minutes here and I'm wiped out.'

'I have no idea what it is, but I feel it too. I was just sitting here and I feel like I'm ready to fall asleep.'

_' That is called the dú híth, or night mist. It makes the people who enter drowsy and fatigued._'

'What?! Beth, did you say that?'

Beth shook her head, causing her hair to fly into my face.

'Ugh! Beth, don't do that!' She grinned sheepishly at me before tying her hair into a low pony.

'Sorry!' I rolled my eyes and faced the endless mist, where I assumed the voice was coming from.

'Why do you want us to be tired? What did we do to you, making you take us from our homes to this…mist place?'

_' Your destiny has called you here,_ _hínnin. You are no longer needed on that world. Your needed on another._'

'What do you mean we're "no longer needed" on Earth? Of course we're needed! We have families, friends, and people who care for us! Are you saying the last 16 years of my life was for nothing?'

This voice was going in the wrong direction if it wanted to get on my good side.

_You are needed more in another place. The skills you learned on Earth are needed on your true world. But, I can not force you to complete your destiny, hínnin. So instead, you shall have a choice._

Slowly, 2 doorways emerged from the mist in front of us. On the left, a beautiful archway emerged, covered in flowers and vines. Runes were carved into the marble, barely legible because they were almost completely covered with the plants. As I gazed at the archway, I noticed a soft glow permeating through the arc and enveloping the surroundings.

The door on the right, although equally dazzling, was less appealing to me. It was large and golden, carved intricately with pictures of every animal I could think of. Unlike the archway, the golden doors were glowing with such an intense light I had to squint to look at it properly.

_' These doorways represent your options. If you go through the arch on the left, you shall enter the world you were preparing to live on your entire life. If you happen to choose the doorway on your left, you shall enter the world that your people call heaven, and you shall not remember your life so far, or anyone that was in it. You must make this decision alone. Choose wisely. Navae._

The voice echoed around the clearing, adding an eerie and mystic quality to the words that had been spoken.

'Wait! Can't we choose to go back to Earth? Why must we leave it forever, no matter what we choose?' I waited for the voice to reply, but no answer came.

With a sense of foreboding, I turned back to Beth, only to realize that the space she had occupied was empty.

'Beth? Nashi, answer me! Where are you?!' I hunted around franticly, searching for my lost friend.

'It looks like I'll really have to make this decision alone.' I thought, turning back to the doorways with resign.

Stepping forward, I made my decision. 'Remembering who I am is more important than anything to me. If my destiny really is in this other world, it can't be that bad, can it? If I can't remember my life in Heaven, then I'll just have to head to the next best place.'

Nodding resolutely, I walked through the archway that would change my life, for better or worse.

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A/N: These are nicknames we gave to each other. Nashi is pear in Japanese, while Ichigo is strawberry.

Also, _Hínnin_ is my children and _Navae_ is farewell in Sindarin.


End file.
